Drilling apparatus

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to accessory equipment for a drilling apparatus for drilling holes into the ground. The accessory equipment ( 10 ), in its operative configuration, is mounted on the support structure ( 52 ) of the drilling apparatus by a mounting bracket thereof ( 22 ), the mounting bracket having an elongate carrier formation ( 24 ) mounted thereon that defines an operatively vertical axis and that has a carrier means ( 26 ) displaceably located thereon, displacement means ( 30 ) providing for displacement of the carrier means with respect to the carrier formation along the longitudinal axis defined by the carrier formation. The carrier means serves to carry a drill bit wrench ( 16 ) for required loosening of adjacent drill bit segments ( 12, 14 ) with respect to one another, the accessory equipment permitting, through displacement of the carrier means, the drill bit wrench to operate at different required levels, as determined by the length of drill bit segments involved.

THIS INVENTION relates to drilling apparatus.

The invention relates particularly to accessory equipment for use with adrilling apparatus of the type that is used, for example, in mines, fordrilling holes in the ground. Drilling apparatus of this type and towhich the present invention relates includes a support structure thatsupports the actual drilling part of the apparatus in its requiredconfiguration with respect to the location where a hole is to bedrilled, to permit drilling of the hole. The drilling part includes adrive motor and a drill bit engagement part that is driven by the motorand that engages a drill bit, particularly a drill bit comprising adrilling segment, that defines the leading end of the drill bit, aplurality of extension segments, that can be linked with the drillingsegment for extending the length of the drill bit, and a distance piecethat acts between the drill bit engagement part and the remainder of thedrill bit, i.e. that engages the drilling segment and extension segmentswith the drill bit engagement part of the drilling part of the drillingapparatus. Insofar as a drilling apparatus of the above type is wellknown, it is not described in further detail herein.

A drilling operation using a drilling apparatus of the above typeprovides for a hole to be drilled to a depth permitted by the length ofa drill bit at a particular time, when an extension segment is insertedin line with the drill bit which, in effect, permits the drilling partof the drilling apparatus to be retracted by a distance equal to thelength of the extension segment and then for drilling to continue untila further extension segment must be inserted in line with the drill bit.Once again, insofar as this mode of drilling a hole in the ground iswell known, this is not described in further detail herein.

The drilling segment, the extension segments and the distance piece of adrill bit as herein envisaged, hereinafter merely referred to as thedrill bit segments of a drill bit, are axially connected with oneanother via complementary threads in a spigot and socket fashion, thethreads being configured to provide for effective tightening together ofthe segments during actual drilling. In order to insert an extensionsegment it is thus required to loosen, with respect to one another, thetwo adjacently connected segments between which the extension segmentmust be inserted, such loosening permitting separation of the segments.This loosening operation often presents difficulties and requires theuse of a special wrench, hereinafter referred to as a drill bit wrench.The same difficulties occur also when a drill bit is withdrawn from ahole drilled and extension segments must be removed from the drill bitwhich, in effect, requires a reverse operation to that required forinserting extension segments in line with a drill bit.

Various different configuration drill bit wrenches are already wellknown, these wrenches generally having a pair of opposing jaws, betweenwhich a drill bit segment can be gripped, and a lever that isdisplaceable for acting on the jaws and thereby rotating a drill bitsegment gripped between the jaws. Preferred wrenches of the type providefor the jaws to be pivotally connected to one another and for the leverto extend from one of the jaws in a configuration in which displacementof the lever will enhance the gripping force of the jaws on the drillbit segment gripped between them. The actual operation of a drill bitwrench, including the displacement of jaws for gripping a drill bitsegment and the displacement of the lever of a drill bit wrench forloosening the drill bit segment with respect to an adjacent segment,generally is hydraulically carried out, the drill bit wrench beingsupported on the support structure of the drilling apparatus used in aconfiguration in which it is displaceable between an inoperativeposition, which permits a drilling operation to be carried out, and anoperative position, in which, through hydraulic operation, the jaws ofthe drill bit wrench can grip a drill bit segment and the lever isdisplaced for loosening the drill bit segment with respect to anadjacent segment. It will be understood in this regard thathydraulically operable piston/cylinder arrangements will act between thesupport structure of the drilling apparatus on which the drill bitwrench is supported and the jaws and the lever of the drill bit wrench,respectively, to provide for operation of the drill bit wrench.

A drill bit wrench as envisaged can thus form accessory equipment foruse with a particular drilling apparatus, the support structure of suchapparatus being provided with further accessory equipment for carrying adrill bit wrench in a suitable configuration and in a location in whichit can perform its function of loosening drill bit segments with respectto one another.

A known problem in this regard is that with a drill bit wrench locatedin a required location on the support structure of a drilling apparatus,it can only be used in conjunction with a drill bit including drill bitsegments that define gripping locations, for being gripped by the jawsof the drill bit wrench, in a predetermined location that coincides withthe operative position of the drill bit wrench. This thus requires thedrilling apparatus to be used in conjunction only with a drill bithaving predetermined length drill bit segments and insofar as drill bitshaving different length drill bit segments are commonly used, thisconstitutes a problem, i.e. a drill bit having the predeterminedrequired length drill bit segments may not be readily available. This,in effect, will require use of a different drilling apparatus of whichthe support structure thus supports a drill bit wrench in the requiredlocation that suits the drill bit segments of the drill bit to be used.Alternatively, the support structure of the drilling apparatus used mustpermit a drill bit wrench to be operatively supported at differentlocations thereon, displacement from one location to another, however,being both time consuming and difficult.

It is thus an object of this invention to at least ameliorate the aboveproblem.

According to the invention there is provided accessory equipment for adrilling apparatus which includes a mounting structure for mounting adrill bit wrench on the support structure of a drilling apparatus, themounting structure including, in its in-use configuration

a mounting bracket securable to the support structure of a drillingapparatus;

an elongate carrier formation secured on the mounting bracket anddefining a longitudinal axis along the length thereof which, with themounting bracket secured to the support structure of a drillingapparatus, is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the drill bit to beused with the drilling apparatus;

carrier means located by the carrier formation in a configuration inwhich it is displaceable with respect to the carrier formation along thelongitudinal axis defined by the carrier formation, the carrier meanshaving formations for supporting a drill bit wrench in a configurationin which, with the mounting bracket secured to the support structure ofa drilling apparatus, it can serve to loosen drill bit segments of thedrill bit of the drilling apparatus; and

displacement means for displacing the carrier means with respect to thecarrier formation along the longitudinal axis defined by the carrierformation.

The configuration of the mounting bracket of the mounting structure ofthe accessory equipment may be adapted to cooperate with the supportstructure of a particular predetermined drilling apparatus, to besecurable thereto. As such, the exact configuration of the mountingbracket is greatly variable, being determined to provide effectively forthe support of a drill bit wrench in a suitable location with respect toa drill bit of the drilling apparatus with which the accessory equipmentis used.

The carrier formation of the mounting structure of the accessoryequipment may be one of a round and a square tubular formation,providing for the carrier means to be displaceable within this tubularformation, with the support formations for supporting a drill bit wrenchprojecting from the tubular formation. Clearly, the elongate carrierformation also can be a shaft on which the carrier means is displaceablylocated.

The support formations of the carrier means for supporting a drill bitwrench may be pivotally displaceable with respect to the carrierformation, permitting displacement of a drill bit wrench, supported bythe support formations and with the mounting bracket secured to thesupport structure of a drilling apparatus, between an inoperativeposition and an operative position in which it can be used for looseningadjacent drill bit segments of a drill bit with respect to one another.

The displacement means of the support structure of the accessoryequipment may be hydraulically operable means and, particularly, is apiston/cylinder arrangement operatively connected between the carriermeans and the elongate carrier formation.

The accessory equipment of the invention also may include a drill bitwrench supported by the support formations of the carrier means. Assuch, the accessory equipment may include hydraulically operablepiston/cylinder arrangements that are operable for displacing the jawsof the drill bit wrench with respect to one another for gripping a drillbit segment of a drill bit and for displacing the lever of the drill bitwrench for loosening two adjacent drill bit segments of the drill bitwith respect to one another.

The overall configuration of the accessory equipment of the inventionclearly is greatly variable, being determined particularly by theconfiguration of the drilling apparatus with which it is to be used, aswell as the configuration of a drill bit wrench to be used therewith orforming a part thereof.

Insofar as the accessory equipment of the invention is provided for usewith a drilling apparatus and, in use, can form an effective partthereof, the invention extends also to a drilling apparatus which isadapted to have accessory equipment, in accordance with the invention,mounted thereon and to a drilling apparatus which includes as partthereof accessory equipment, in accordance with the invention.

An example of accessory equipment for use with a drilling apparatus, inaccordance with the invention, is described hereafter with reference tothe accompanying diagrammatic drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of the accessory equipment, in a firstoperative configuration thereof;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the equipment of FIG. 1, in a secondoperative configuration thereof; and

FIG. 3 illustrates schematically the location of the equipment of FIG. 1on a drilling apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, accessory equipment for a drilling apparatus,in accordance with the invention, is designated generally by thereference numeral 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the accessory equipment 10particularly is adapted for use with a drilling apparatus 50, which isof the type herein envisaged. The drilling apparatus 50 includes amobile support structure 52 that supports the actual drilling part 54 ofthe apparatus in its required configuration with respect to the locationwhere a hole is to be drilled, to permit drilling of the hole, thedrilling part 54 being schematically shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3,for clarity, externally of the support structure 52, although inpractice it is located within the perimeter of the support structure 52.The drilling part of the apparatus is associated with a drill bit 56(see FIG. 3), both FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrating two drill bit segments ofsuch a drill bit, which are designated respectively by the numerals 12and 14. The accessory equipment 10, shown in FIG. 3 in its inoperativeposition, is located above the deck 58 of the drilling apparatus 50 andis provided particularly to facilitate loosening of the drill bitsegments of a drill bit with respect to one another, particularly withthe aid of a drill bit wrench, which is designated generally by thenumeral 16. The drill bit wrench is of a known type and insofar as itsconfiguration does not form a part of the present invention, it is notdescribed in further detail herein, save that it includes a pair of jaws18 and a lever 20, the lever extending integrally from one of the jawsof the pair of jaws 18.

The drill bit wrench 16 is mounted on the support structure 52 of thedrilling apparatus, particularly via a mounting structure that forms apart of the accessory equipment. Particularly, the mounting structureincludes a mounting bracket 22 that is directly secured to the supportstructure 52 of the drilling apparatus (see FIG. 3) and that has anelongate carrier formation 24 mounted thereon. As is clearly illustratedin FIGS. 1 and 2, the elongate carrier formation 24 defines an axisparallel to the longitudinal axis of the drill bit to be used with thedrilling apparatus and of which two drill bit segments, 12 and 14, areshown. The carrier formation particularly is a square tubular formationthat has a carrier means 26 slidably located therein, the carrier meansincluding formations 28 whereby the drill bit wrench is supported in theconfiguration as illustrated, in which it can serve to loosen drill bitsegments, of a drill bit of the associated drilling apparatus, withrespect to one another, as is described in more detail hereafter.

A displacement means, in the form of a piston/cylinder arrangement 30,is mounted on one end of the carrier formation 24, a piston rod 32 ofthe piston part of the arrangement 30 being operatively connected withthe carrier means 26 so that by operation of the piston/cylinderarrangement 30, the carrier means is slidably displaceable within thecarrier formation 24, particularly between a “lowest position” as shownin FIG. 1 and a “highest position” as shown in FIG. 2. This displacementof the carrier means with respect to the carrier formation is clearlyapparent from FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

It will be understood also in this regard that by the displacement ofthe carrier means, the drill bit wrench 16 will be simultaneouslydisplaced.

The formations 28 of the carrier means 26 whereby the drill bit wrench16 is supported particularly provides for the pivotal support of thedrill bit wrench, a pivot pin 34 serving as a pivot between theformations 28 and the remainder of the carrier means 26 to provide fordisplacement of the drill bit wrench from its operative position asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in which it is positioned to engage a drill bitsegment of a drill bit, to permit loosening of adjacent drill bitsegments with respect to one another, and an inoperative position, inwhich the drill bit wrench is displaced away from the drill bit, so asnot to interfere with a drilling operation.

A suitable piston/cylinder arrangement 36 serves to control this pivotaldisplacement, whereas further piston/cylinder arrangements act betweenthe carrier means 26 and the drill bit wrench 16, to provide foreffective operation of the drill bitwrench, essentially in aconventional manner.

By providing for the adjustment of the position of the drill bit wrenchwith respect to a drill bit, its use in conjunction with drill bitshaving different configuration/length drill bit segments is providedfor, particularly insofar as different configuration/length drill bitsegments of a drill bit require engagement by a drill bit wrench atdifferent operative levels, in order to permit loosening of adjacentdrill bit segments with respect to one another. The known problem inrelation to the use of known drill bit wrenches, which do notaccommodate their use in conjunction with different configuration/lengthdrill bit segments forming a drill bit, is thus largely alleviated.

It will be understood that the exact configuration of the accessoryequipment of the invention as above described is greatly variable andthat its configuration is particularly determined by the configurationof the drilling apparatus with which it is to be used, as well as theconfiguration of the particular drill bit wrench to be used therewith orforming a part thereof. For this reason, the exact construction of theaccessory equipment is not described in further detail herein, it beingapparent that this construction can be varied in various differentrespects while still providing for the essential principles of thepresent invention to be embodied.

Insofar as the accessory equipment as described can form an actual partof a drilling apparatus, the invention extends also to such a drillingapparatus which includes accessory equipment as described above as partthereof.

1. Accessory equipment for a drilling apparatus which includes amounting structure for mounting a drill bit wrench on the supportstructure of a drilling apparatus, the mounting structure including, inits in use configuration, a mounting bracket securable to the supportstructure of a drilling apparatus; an elongate carrier formation securedon the mounting bracket and defining a longitudinal axis along thelength thereof which, with the mounting bracket secured to the supportstructure of a drilling apparatus, is parallel to the longitudinal axisof the drill bit to be used with the drilling apparatus; carrier meanslocated by the carrier formation in a configuration in which it isdisplaceable with respect to the carrier formation along thelongitudinal axis defined by the carrier formation, the carrier meanshaving support formations for supporting a drill bit wrench in aconfiguration in which, with the mounting bracket secured to the supportstructure of a drilling apparatus, it can serve to loosen drill bitsegments of the drill bit of the drilling apparatus; and displacementmeans for displacing the carrier means with respect to the carrierformation along the longitudinal axis defined by the carrier formation.2. Accessory equipment as claimed in claim 1, in which the configurationof the mounting bracket is adapted to cooperate with the supportstructure of a particular predetermined drilling apparatus, to besecurable thereto.
 3. Accessory equipment as claimed in claim 1, inwhich the carrier formation is one of a round and a square tubularformation and in which the carrier means is displaceable within thistubular formation, with the support formations for supporting a drillbit wrench projecting from the tubular formation.
 4. Accessory equipmentas claimed in claim 1, in which the support formations of the carriermeans for supporting a drill bit wrench are pivotally displaceable withrespect to the carrier formation, permitting displacement of a drill bitwrench, supported by the support formations and with the mountingbracket secured to the support structure of a drilling apparatus,between an inoperative position and an operative position in which itcan be used for loosening adjacent drill bit segments of a drill bitwith respect to one another.
 5. Accessory equipment as claimed in claim1, in which the displacement means is a hydraulically operable means. 6.Accessory equipment as claimed in claim 5, in which the displacementmeans is a piston/cylinder arrangement operatively connected between thecarrier means and the elongate carrier formation.
 7. Accessory equipmentas claimed in claim 1, which includes a drill bit wrench supported bythe support formations of the carrier means.
 8. Accessory equipment asclaimed in claim 7, which includes hydraulically operablepiston/cylinder arrangements that are operable for displacing the jawsof the drill bit wrench with respect to one another for gripping a drillbit segment of a drill bit and for displacing the lever of the drill bitwrench for loosening two adjacent drill bit segments of the drill bitwith respect to one another.
 9. A drilling apparatus which is adapted tohave accessory equipment, as claimed in claim 1, mounted thereon.
 10. Adrilling apparatus which includes as part thereof accessory equipment asclaimed in claim
 1. 11. Accessory equipment for a drilling apparatus asclaimed in claim 1, substantially as herein described with reference toand as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.